Never Too Late
by NaNa501
Summary: Sasuke lost everything chasing after something he didn't truly want, power. As he takes his last breaths, Sena's right by his side, just the way he wished. So what is Sasuke's real story anyway? ONE SHOT.


_**"To the world you mean one thing. But to me, you mean the world."**_

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"_You want me to help you track down Itachi?" Sena was oddly calm as she observed the four surrounding her. She smiled when she saw the much taller and handsome Sasuke. "It's been a while Sasuke."_

_His expression was left unchanged as he looked at his old friend. They used to be on Team Seven together and were considered to be best friends. But when Sasuke decided to leave, Sena decided not to stop him. It was his own business and he wouldn't have listened anyway._

"_You know this chick?" Suigetsu eyed the blonde up and down. "She's kind of hot."_

"_Would you focus?" Karin punched Suigetsu across the room as Sasuke sighed, wondering how he got stuck with them. _

"_Yes, I want you to help me track him down." His monotone voice could be heard just above Karin's bickering. _

"_And if I say no?" The spunky girl raised a brow at the Uchiha. _

"_That's not an option." Jugo answered for Sasuke. "You're going to find him. We know you've been researching Akatsuki for a year now, so you have to have a clue or two. The only choice is to join us."_

_Sena bent her head and thought about what she should do. It never bothered her that Sasuke had abandoned Konoha, it was his choice anyway. She lives her life, he lives his. _

"_Or if you really want to be difficult, we could kill-"_

"_I'll join." The famous tracker said before the raven haired man could finish. The four were slightly shocked when she agreed so quickly. But it's not like Sena had many choices. Sure she was excelled in tracking, but she wasn't much of a ninja._

"…_Alright then." Sasuke's dull eyes bore into Sena's light blue orbs. "I knew you wouldn't get on my nerves."_

"_Who is that bitch anyway?" Karin complained to herself and threw Sena a dirty look._

"_Me?" She flipped her blond hair and walked over to the young Uchiha. "The only thing you need to know is Sasuke likes me better." _

_The red head let out a scream in frustration as Suigetsu held his stomach, laughing. "Sasuke-Kun does __**not**__ like you better!"_

"_I almost forgot how much you hate my fan girls." Sasuke muttered as he motioned for everybody to follow him. "Don't fight with her too much Sena."_

"_No promises." The blonde grinned as she wrapped her arm around Sasuke's._

"I killed him…" Sasuke let out a small laugh, not being able to believe it. "He's dead…"

"He's slowly slipping into insanity, isn't he?" Suigetsu whispered to Sena who shook her head.

"Don't say that, he might hear you. Who knows, maybe he'll kill you too." Her dark humor sent shivers up his spine.

The four of them watched the young Uchiha shake in excitement. Just the sight of the motionless Itachi, drenched in blood, seemed to satisfy him.

"Sasuke, there are ninjas coming this way!" Karin pointed into the deep forest and pushed up her glasses. "We have to get out of here, there are tons of them!"

But he didn't heed her warning. Using his sword for support, he brought his self up and smirked. "I'll kill them all…"

Knowing there was no way to change Sasuke's mind, Suigetsu and Jugo got prepared to fight. Karin stayed behind Sasuke just in case he needed her and Sena went to hide in the bushes.

They could feel Sasuke's aura become darker. Sena knew that he was on the verge of going insane from the pleasure he felt after killing Itachi.

"I'll kill you all!" The blond haired girl winced at the venom dripping from Sasuke's words.

The sound of ripping flesh danced in the air, followed by the blood curdling screams of pain. Her blue eyes only followed Sasuke, watching how he killed the ninjas too easily.

But then the sounds stopped. Sena saw one of the ninjas holding Karin close to him with a sword to her neck. "Surrender or the girl dies."

The red head panicked and started to cry in fear. She looked over to Sasuke, pleading to let her live. And her eyes doubled in size when she saw Sasuke's lip curl up in a small smirk.

With one swift motion, Sasuke had stabbed Karin, along with the ninja behind her. Both of them fell to the ground once Sasuke slowly pulled out. He was overjoyed with the triumph he felt when he saw the dead bodies covering the floor.

"You shouldn't have gotten in the way Karin." Suigetsu and Jugo looked over to Sasuke, speechless.

"Wait a second Sasuke!" Suigetsu felt a little angry when he saw the corpse of Karin. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Karin's useless." His icy words left Suigetsu frozen. "I don't need her anymore. As a matter of fact, I don't need you guys either."

Suigetsu and Jugo clenched their jaws, completely disgusted at how twisted and sick Sasuke was.

"You've completely lost it now." Jugo growled. "It's too late for you."

"You think I've…lost it?" Sasuke ran his hand over the blood that spotlessly covered the sword. "You guys were merely tools to me anyway."

Suigetsu looked over to Jugo before running full speed into the forest. Jugo followed right behind him in hopes to escape from Sasuke. They knew they didn't stand a chance even if the two of them attacked at once, not when Sasuke was in this state. Just as Sasuke was about to run after them, he slowly turned his head towards Sena.

Her heart stopped. Adrenaline ran through her veins when she saw Sasuke walking towards her.

"To think I almost forgot about you." The raven haired man chuckled as Sena slowly walked away from the bush.

"Sasuke…" She said in a hushed tone as she backed away from him. "Snap out of it."

"You four just don't get it huh?" Her eyes focused on the sword in Sasuke's hand. She trembled as she continued to step away from him. "Just tools, you guys didn't mean _anything_ to me."

"It's absolutely revolting." As much as she tried to prevent it, her voice shook terribly. "How can you even say that?"

"Let's just get this over with." He disappeared and reappeared right in front of Sena. Her eyes doubled in size before she shut them tightly.

"_Hey Sasuke?" Sena dipped her feet into the clean water. "Let's play in the water!"_

_Suigestu snorted at the thought of the famous Uchiha wasting his time to do things like 'play in the water', none the less listen to a girl. _

"_Why would I play in the water?" A hint of annoyance could be heard in Sasuke's voice. _

"_Oh come on!" Sena complained and pulled on Sasuke's arm. "It's such a nice day today!"_

_Karin closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, trying to keep calm. Jugo shook his head, knowing Karin and Sena would probably start fighting soon._

_It had been a couple of months since Sena had tagged along with them so Jugo could tell if the girls were about to start arguing soon. Suigetsu smiled evilly and tackled Karin into the water before she could explode on Sena._

"_You idiot!" Karin coughed up water and attempted to hit Suigetsu. He just laughed as he swam away from the furious Karin._

_A smile spread onto Sena's face as she decided to steal Suigetsu's idea. When Sasuke wasn't paying attention, she ran towards him and pushed him into the water. "Score!"_

_When the Uchiha resurfaced, he didn't look amused at all. "Sena…"_

"_Loosen up Sasuke!" She jumped into the water and giggled. "You used to love playing in the water! Can't you at least act like you're having fun? I miss the old Sasuke!"_

_Sasuke saw the blonde whine and secretly felt bad. "…Okay."_

_Sena blinked in awe but quickly snapped out of it. "That's the Sasuke I know!"_

Tears rolled down Sena's face as she remembered how Sasuke used to smile whenever he saw her. To her, she felt as if she and Sasuke were best friends.

But she knew that was just a stupid dream now.

As she continued to cry, she heard something heavy fall onto the ground. Slowly, she opened one eye to see that Sasuke had fainted. He was too exhausted from fighting Itachi.

And she couldn't explain the next feeling she felt.

First, it was relief.

Soon after, she felt panicked when she thought of how Sasuke could die.

But it was short lived. Anger took over her whole body as she gripped onto Sasuke's sword.

"I can't let you live Sasuke." Sena said in a small voice. But her arm didn't move when she wanted it to. Her body didn't seem to listen to her commands. "But I can't kill you either…"

"Sena…" His voice croaked as he regained consciousness. "I'm scared."

'_You're scared?'_ She wanted to yell but stopped herself, wanting more to listen to what Sasuke had to say.

"…Why are you scared Sasuke?" Sena said in a pure voice and caught a glimpse of his onyx eyes slowly opening.

"I'm alone." He seemed to be in pain as he continued to talk. "I'm all alone now."

She could have told him he still had her.

But that would have been a lie.

"Sasuke, you're hurt!" Sena finally noticed the wound on the side of Sasuke's stomach. "Why the hell didn't you say anything about it?" She quickly slid Sasuke's shirt off and wrapped it around the deep injury.

"I always thought you were a little stupid…" He chuckled, catching Sena off guard.

"You really want to drive me insane?" She dug her head into scarred chest and quietly sobbed. Sasuke shut his eyes in pain. Not physical pain, but emotional.

"Don't cry Sena."

"You're fucking crazy…" Strands of her blond hair stuck to her face as she cried harder. "You just tried to kill me!"

"Then you should kill me." Sena stopped shaking when she heard his quiet voice suggest such a twisted idea.

"Trust me, that's what any sane person would do." Being able to recompose herself quickly, she wiped her tears and tried to help him up. But instead of getting up, he pulled her down to the ground. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"It's too late."

As a reflex, she opened her mouth to ask what he meant. But when her eyes caught the sight of how much blood he had already lost, she knew what he meant. Seconds felt like minutes as she stared into his glazed eyes, wondering what was so different about them. She looked closer and saw something in his eyes she'd never seen before.

Emotions. Tears.

"Sena, why didn't you come after me?" The sight of Sasuke crying left Sena breathless. "It's all over…" Seeing the almighty Uchiha in a helpless state made her heart drop.

"Go after you?" She whispered and smiled lightly. "Sasuke, what do you-"

"When I left, you didn't try to stop me." Tears continued to swim in his eyes and roll down his face. "You knew about me leaving, why didn't you stop me?"

Her mind went blank but her eyes immediately filled with tears. And slowly, drops of tears ran down her face and onto the soft ground. "…I didn't think you'd stay."

"It was too late by the time I left." His raven hair and snow white skin was now covered in blood, making Sena sick to the stomach. "Power's not what I wanted…"

Knowing these were Sasuke's last words, Sena wiped her tears away and listened closely. "T-Then what is it that you wanted?"

His once pink lips were now a dull shade of grey. "All I wanted was for someone to pay attention to me." Unexpectedly, his lips curved up into a small smile. Even if he was covered in blood and in critical condition, Sena thought he was still breathtaking. "Thanks for paying attention to me, Sena…"

"Of course I would pay attention to you, I'm your friend." Her eyebrows furrowed as memories rushed into her thoughts.

Nothing could be heard but the tiny sound of Sasuke chuckling. "Sena, the only thing I wanted was for you to stop me that night."

"If this is your attempt of a guilt trip, it's working." Sena tried to smile when she saw the rare grin on Sasuke's face.

Even thought the pain was excruciating, Sasuke managed to hold up his hand up to her face. She leaned against it and silently wept. "Smile Sena…"

She scoffed at his silly request but carried through with it anyway. When she smiled, he seemed to brighten up. "To be honest, I even miss Naruto…"

"You know how much that idiot loves you?" Sena sniffled.

Then reality hit her.

Sasuke wasn't going to be here anymore. There wasn't going to be another chapter in his life. This was the end.

He wouldn't be able to go back to Konoha and see Naruto or Sakura or anyone.

"Wait, Sasuke!" Sena saw a hint of surprise in his eyes. "You have to live, everybody's waiting for you!"

"It's too late Sena."

"Stop saying that!" She held back her fist to swing at him but stopped herself. "Why do you keep saying it's too late?"

"Because it is. It was all over when I left. I'm a missing nin now and I let power take over my life." The raven haired man cursed when he felt a sudden pain in his side. "Sena, I almost killed you."

"That's okay!" She screamed like a stubborn child. "That doesn't mean you have to die!"

"The minute I left Konoha, my life was over." His breathing got heavier. Sena looked down to the ground and quietly cried.

"Sena, do me a favor." He said quickly, knowing that time wasn't on his side.

"What?" She tried to smile for him.

"Kiss me."

Sena just blinked, not knowing what to do. When her face reddened, she scrambled to get up onto her feet. "Don't be dumb!" She felt herself getting frustrated, not knowing if Sasuke was just playing with her feelings or not. "You're going to live Sasuke! And when you get better, I'll punch you for saying that!"

Suigetsu and Jugo always teased Sasuke and Sena for liking each other but they would deny it every time. It was obvious they adored each other, even Karin knew it.

"I would never kiss you!" Sena exclaimed and avoided his gaze. "There's a village near here, I'll go and get-"

Before she could finish, Sasuke grabbed onto her arm and pulled her down. His cold hands gingerly held her face to his, finally locking lips. Before she could respond, he pulled back. "Come on Sena, I think it's time we both admit it."

The flushed look on Sena's face was priceless, especially since she came off as a cool and collected kind of girl. "Y-You…I don't know what you're talking about. Blood loss is making you crazy in the head." She got up to get help but Sasuke held her down again.

"Sasuke, let go." She said in a stern voice, determined to save him. But the look on his face told her he won't be letting go any time soon. "Sasuke, let me go!" She tugged her arm but he had a firm grip around her wrist. By now, tears streamed down her face as she struggled, knowing it really was too late.

"Sena, I just want you by my side when I die." Sasuke bit his lip and raised a brow at her. "Now are you going to kiss me or just sit there?"

The blonde glared at the Uchiha who was smiling at her. In seconds, what started out as a few hesitant kisses soon turned into a deep session of exchanging feelings for each other. They kissed each other passionately, and in unison, they ran their fingers through each other's hair. Sparks ignited in Sena's stomach, making her smile in response.

"And what…Are you…Smiling…About?" Sasuke managed to whisper in between kisses.

"Just…Shut…Up…And Kiss…Me."

As strands of her blond hair fell, Sasuke could smell her intoxicating scent. Every time he inhaled, he could feel a sense of attachment to her. Their lips embraced each other's and wouldn't let go.

Sasuke pulled away with any strength he had left. "Is it too late to tell you I love you?"

Sena shed tears for what seemed like the hundredth time and crashed her lips onto Sasuke's, not wanting to see the lifeless look on his face. But when she didn't feel his lips moving, she also noticed his whole body was motionless too. She clenched her fists together and pulled away from his face. As she dug her head into his chest, she mourned helplessly.

Wanting to end it properly, she brushed her hand over his eyes, closing them.

"It's never too late." She smiled, looking down to the man she had fell for. "I love you too."


End file.
